SCARFACE (DVD) (1932) (ENG SDH/FRENCH/DOL DIG 2.0) DVD

Scarface
Completed in mid-1930, Scarface, based on Armitage Trail's novel of the same name, might have been the first of the great talkie gangster flicks, but it was held up for release until after that honor was jointly usurped by Little Caesar and Public Enemy. Paul Muni stars as prohibition-era mobster Tony Camonte, a character obviously patterned on Al Capone (whose nickname was "Scarface"). The homicidal Camonte ruthlessly wrests control of the bootlegging racket from his boss, Johnny Lovo (Osgood Perkins), and claims Lovo's mistress, Poppy (Karen Morley), in the bargain. But while Poppy satisfies him sexually, Tony has a soft spot in his heart only for his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak). The film's finale is one of the longest and bloodiest of the 1930s, maintaining suspense and concern for the characters involved even though Muni has deliberately done nothing to make Tony likeable to audience. The grimness of Scarface is leavened by a few choice moments of black humor. Forced to leave a stage production of Rain in order to commit a murder, Tony returns to his theater seat and anxiously asks his buddies how the play came out. Some of the film's funniest moments belong to Vince Barnett as the mentally deficient, illiterate gangster secretary, who at one juncture gets so mad at a caller on the phone that he shoots the receiver. Scarface features a famous "'X' Marks The Spot" logo, inspired by news photos of gangland murders: whenever a character is killed, the letter "X" appears on screen in one form or another. Example: When a rival gangster (played by Boris Karloff) is killed at a bowling alley, the camera cuts to his bowling ball knocking down all the pins -- a strike, denoted, of course, by an "X." Producer Howard R. Hughes couldn't release Scarface until he toned down some of the violence, reshot certain scenes to avoid libel suits, added the subtitle "The Shame of the Nation" to the opening credits, and shoehorned in new scenes showing upright Italian-Americans banding together to wipe out gangsterism. After its first run, Scarface was completely withdrawn from distribution on Hughes' orders; the film would not be seen again on a widespread basis until it was reissued by Universal in 1979, shorn of 8 of its original 99 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Paul Muni as Tony Camonte Ann Dvorak as Cesca Camonte Karen Morley as Poppy George Raft as Guino Rinaldo Boris Karloff as Gaffney Osgood Perkins as Johnny Lovo C. Henry Gordon as Guardino Purnell Pratt as Publisher Vince Barnett as Angelo Inez Palange as Mrs. Camonte Edwin Maxwell as Chief Detective Tully Marshall as Managing Editor

Crew Howard Hawks - Director Edward A. Curtiss - Editor Douglas Biggs - Editor Gus Arnheim - Composer (Music Score) Adolph Tandler - Composer (Music Score) Harry Oliver - Production Designer Lee Garmes - Cinematographer Lewis William O'Connell - Cinematographer Howard R. Hughes - Producer Howard Hawks - Producer John Lee Mahin - Screenwriter Seton Miller - Screenwriter Ben Hecht - Screenwriter Howard Hawks - Screenwriter Fred Palsey - Screenwriter W.R. Burnett - Screenwriter Armitage Trail - Book Author

Scarface
Scarface is a potent, uncompromising portrait of the gangster life. While journalists often romanticized them, and many in the public made mobsters into folk heroes, director Howard Hawks' portrayal of the brutish and ambitious Capone-inspired titular character, played with terrific ferocity by Paul Muni (this movie made him a star, and it is easy to see why) is brutal and stark. The pre- oir gangster genre was in many ways defined by the innovative approaches taken by Hawks in Scarface. Tracking and dolly shots, relatively unknown at the time, contribute to the film's kinetic energy and excellent pacing. The expressionistic black-and-white cinematography by Lee Garmes is married to a screenplay (written by a team led by Ben Hecht) packed with symbolism as well as a rare combination of humor, sex, and violence. This extremely violent film (28 murders are recorded onscreen) also grafts a racy incest theme (Muni's character has Caligula-like feelings for his sister, played with remarkable sexual confidence by Ann Dvorak) onto the story line, resulting in considerable pressure from censors (the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America) coming to bear on the filmmakers (in this pre-Hays Production Code era). However, after considerable squabbling, producer Howard Hughes finally released Scarface in two formats: one with censor approval and one without, leading to confusion among Scarface audiences at the time. Ironically, though the movie indicts the violence of the mob figures it portrays, it became very popular largely because of this: in the end, the mobsters lead a very exciting lifestyle and seem to be having a lot of fun wreaking havoc on the world. And, of course, the movie is grand entertainment itself. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
 

Library of Congress, U.S. National Film Registry (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: French Sound Processing: DDM2.0: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (Recorded in mono, but split to give the illusion of a stereo mix on home theater systems). Additional Features: Exclusive introduction by Turner Classic Movies host and film historian Robert Osborne Rare alternate ending DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 94 min Part of Series: Universal Cinema Classics